The decision by the government led by María José Catalá to abandon this initiative obliges the council to pay the project's contractor, the engineering firm Oficina Técnica Tes, approximately €72,800 for contract termination. This expense covers the work carried out before the definitive halt and the legal compensation for the early cancellation of the design.
The original project, initiated under the previous government of Compromís and PSPV, had funding from the European Next Generation funds and planned a reform of Blasco Ibáñez avenue to segregate the bus lane from El Cabanyal to General Elio. The project was awarded in February 2025 for €221,385.
However, a few months later, the Mobility Department, headed by Jesús Carbonell, decided to discard the project. This decision was based on resident opposition and a report from the consultancy firm Idom, responsible for the EMT Master Plan, which concluded that the BRT was "not suitable" for the avenue due to being "too aggressive" an intervention. Technicians proposed an alternative of segregating the current bus lane only in a section and equipping the road with traffic light priority. The Ministry of Transport approved the modification of conditions to prevent the loss of European funds.
Given this scenario, and after agreeing on an alternative with the area's neighborhood associations, the council decided to reverse the contract in the summer of 2025. As it was a mutual termination motivated by "reasons of public interest" and not by a breach of contract by the company, the Public Sector Contracts Law requires compensation for the contractor.
The City Council has valued the work effectively performed by the engineering firm at €65,053.44 (VAT included). Added to this amount is compensation of €7,751.99, equivalent to 6% of the services not rendered as industrial profit, as stipulated by contracting regulations for such cases.
Deducting the initial 20% that the City Council had already paid in the spring of 2025 (€22,138.52), the Government Board this Friday recognized a final payment obligation of €50,666.91 to definitively close the file and return the company's deposit.
Despite the disbursement of these €72,805 for a project that will not be executed, the Mobility Service defends that the cancellation responds to the will of the area's residents.
